Everybody knows what the Eiffel Tower looks like, but what does it sound like? That’s what an American composer aims to find out.

Joseph Bertolozzi is an American in Paris with a very specific mission: Find the music in one of the most iconic landmarks in the world.

“There is a voice inside a pile of iron, so I’m going to try and draw it out,” Bertolozzi told the New York Times, who tracked him down in the City of Lights in order to record him in action.

“I have wooden mallets, latex mallet, and the mic is affixed and the engineer says ‘go!'” explained Bertolozzi. “And I hit, and we record the sound.”

I’m sure a lot of you are pretty skeptical about this Tower Music project but Bertolozzi is a serious composer who has already released an entire CD of what he calls “Bridge Music,” based on sounds collected from the Mid-Hudson Bridge.

The Eiffel Tower sounds don’t sound nearly as accomplished as the “Bridge Music” project, but then that’s because he hasn’t turned them into music yet. Bertolozzi estimates he’ll collect about a thousand pieces of sound from the Eiffel Tower by the time he’s done.

Bertolozzi says his “Bridge Music” album made it onto the Billboard charts and he has high hopes for his Eiffel Tower Music as well.

About the Author

Tom Tangney
Tom Tangney is the co-host of The Tom and Curley Show on KIRO Radio and resident enthusiast of...everything. As the film and media critic on the Morning News on KIRO Radio, he espouses his love for books, movies, TV, art, pop culture, politics, sports, and Husky football.